The rally, which has been organised to coincide with the VW national show in Nelson at Easter, will start on Easter Monday and end on April 18 at Hokitika.
During that time, the Kombi vans will circle the South Island, heading down the east coast to Invercargill before returning up the West Coast.
One of the rally organisers, Dave Finnie, of Oamaru, will be taking two of his Kombi campers on the journey with the help of German tourist Sven Genschow, from Salzgitter, whose uncle sells Kombi campervans.
Mr Finnie said 60 had registered so far for the rally, although that included some Beetle owners.
Some on the rally had hired modern VW campervans especially for the trip.
Production of the Kombi started in March 1950, and a campervan later become one of the variants.
While private attempts had been made to produce a self-powered campervan by adapting caravans, the Kombi was the first commercial model.
Originally produced as the Type 2, 90 variations of the Kombi were developed by Volkswagen, from ice-cream vans to fire trucks.
The campervan, produced by many companies, included the well-known Westfalia.
The word started to spread around the world; in 1963, the United States ordered 150,000 campervans, and the vehicle became a favourite of the hippy generation.
Mr Finnie said the rally was being strongly supported by North Islanders, who were going to Nelson for the national show and then taking the opportunity to tour the South Island.
"At the time, it [the Kombi] was the only vehicle of that size in the market; others were too small for conversions.
"The interior space, along with the rear engine, was also an advantage," he said.
